I am easily distracted, so much so I need to be away from distractions. When I first read Andrea Badgley’s weekly photo challenge, I identified.

Wrigley Field, and me…

I am in the basement, outside it’s rainy, or was raining, and it’s wet. Whether it’s raining or not, sitting on the deck and writing would be a bad idea this morning. The basement is dry, thankfully. The family is sleeping, reaching for that last bit of sleeping in late.

Lately, I’ve been distracted by just about everything. Sunday afternoon, I was writing a letter to my mom – more on that later – and I could not keep my mind on what I was writing and my pen, a fountain pen, would dry and I’d need to constantly re-wet it. I finally finished the letter Tuesday and put it in the mail with four thank you notes. I have another letter I need to write – this one to a former student and I’ve been dragging my feet, or rather allowing myself to get distracted.

It’s the ‘shiny’ stuff that gets me off topic and wandering and wondering.

Last week, I took in two baseball games one by myself, and the other with my favorite daughter, O. I root for the Astros. She roots for the Reds, and the Cubs, but the Reds are first. She’s been wanting to go to a Reds game and this week they’ve been in Chicago. She mentioned it last week and reminded me yesterday.

early – Reds up to bat

late, Cubs up to bat

O is off to high school next week and freshman orientation was Tuesday afternoon with a parent orientation Tuesday evening. The school had brought in a psychologist to give the parents a heads up, a what to expect talk. A few of us had been through high school with older children, but the majority of parents were first-time (rookie) high school parents. The psychologist was good, real good. I wish I (we) had had listened to his talk (and really listened) five years ago when W was making his leap into high school. His first piece of advice was to help our daughter get a good night’s sleep and not to wake her up. A good eight to ten hours of sleep nightly – he told us to put it on the schedule and make it a priority. He had other bits of advice, but mostly his advice was about not letting us get distracted or allow her to get distracted from what is most important. Also, he encouraged us not to wake her up because she needs to be able to learn to wake up on her own.

Great advice, easy to hear, not so easy to follow. I love my daughter, and my son, that’s without question. However, she’s sleeping in while I write. It was a late night and we did take in the Cubs vs. Reds baseball game last night. It was a great game, and the game came down to the last pitch and the Cubs won 7 to 6. We were disappointed, but it’s a game and it’s supposed to be fun.

one last selfie…..

After the game, we walked down to the Reds dugout hoping O could get one of the Reds players to autograph her Reds hat. We weren’t successful, but one of the ushers advised us to wait outside the stadium by the team bus for the players to come out after the game.

We waited patiently. We weren’t alone, a family with two young boys and their grandpa from Ohio and several other Reds fans waited and watched as player after player walked out and boarded the bus. Finally, a player walked toward the bus, stepped up then reluctantly came over to the fence. O waved her hat and a pen and he took both and signed her hat. I would’ve been done – satisfied, but not O.

Another player walked up, talked to the waiting fans, and signed several hats and balls. He had a good sense of humor, really both players had good senses of humor, better than I would’ve been after a crushing loss on the final pitch, but it’s a game and it was a pleasure watching him work the small crowd, patiently signing and talking before boarding the bus. I believe those two players ‘get it’ and realize it’s a only game and it should be fun, not just for the fans, but the players, too. There are far more serious things going on the world today, much more serious things than sport. Sometimes, it’s necessary to have distractions, something shiny to keep us fresh, healthy, and ready for the next important task, thought, or action.

thank you, Scooter

again, it means more than you realize – thank you.

I am thankful to those two Red’s players for taking the time to make a young fan’s day.

Today is gonna be a great day. I have four days, after today, remaining of summer break, O has six days. It’s been a great break full of shiny things and serious things, all in balance. I am going in to school this morning; I have some work to do in my classroom, and I’ve volunteered to help with schedule and locker distribution this afternoon. It’ll be a good time, time well spent, building relationships with students and easing back in. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one distraction, shiny or not, I am easily distracted, too.

Sorry for the delay in replying, school has re-started and I feel as though I am a bee in pollinating season. Age is a mere number which represents experience and wisdom. I am not far behind you…. have a wonderful day and great week ahead.